Ecuador HIGH & LOW
14 days Quito – Amazon Rainforest – Baños – Cotopaxi National Park – Riobamba – Cuenca – Guayaquil Journey Highlights: Æ
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Quito city tour Otavalo Market 3 day Rain Forest Experience Cotopaxi National Park Devil's Nose Train Ingapirca Archeologial Complex Æ Optional Galapogas Islands Tour BASIC
COMFORT
£2100
£2250
PER PASSENGER
PER PASSENGER
DELUXe
£2500
PER PASSENGER
FULL ITINERARY Day 1 Quito: Sleeping: Quito Hotel Eating: n/a Travelling: International Flight Upon arriving in Quito, you will be met at the airport by our Quito guide and transferred to your chosen Quito hotel. Here you will receive a briefing about your journey, and have a chance to ask any questions. The evening is yours to settle in and recover from your jet lag. Day 2 Quito / Equator: Sleeping: Quito Hotel Eating: Breakfast Travelling: Tour Bus Today you will enjoy a tour of the great city of Quito, Ecuador's capital. You will wander down the broad avenues of the northern residential section, see the commanding legislative Palace, and discover San Agustin’s convent. From there you will continue on to Independence Plaza, the Cathedral, the Government Palace, and La Compañía and San Francisco churches A few kilometers north of Quito is the Equator memorial at latitude 0 00’ 00’’ which marks the place where an 18th century expedition established the exact geodesic position of the Equator. Here you will have the unique opportunity to be in two hemispheres at the same time, as well as seeing the sites and attractions built around the great monument, before returning to your hotel. Day 3 Quito / Otavalo / Quito: Sleeping: Quito Hotel Eating: Breakfast & Lunch Travelling: Tour Bus In the morning you will start your trip through the Awakening Valley in Calderón, where you will find the intriguing bread-‐dough figures. You will continue to Guayllabamba and Cayambe to sample some of the local fruit and other food specialties. Passing by some of the most attractive artisan centres and Andean landscapes, you will arrive in Otayalo and its famous indigenous market, just in time to bargain for hand-‐knitted wool sweaters, colorful tapestries, wood carvings, silver jewelry, native paintings, woolen and straw hats, and much more. Lunch will be served at a typical nearby hacienda or country inn, before you enjoy the amazing landscapes on your way to a free evening in Quito. Day 4 Quito / Amazon Rainforest: Sleeping: Rainforest Lodge Eating: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Travelling: Tour Bus Rainforest Experience: Day 1 Early in the morning you will depart from Quito toward the majestic Andes and the Cloud Forest driving through the town of Papallacta, famous for its hot springs, and then down to the Amazonian town of Tena. You will then continue towards Puerto Napo to an area known as Venecia. After a typical local lunch, you will continue, via rough jungle roads, to your lodge in the Amazon Rain Forest, where you will be welcomed with a dinner and a complimentary cocktail. Day 5 Amazon Rainforest: Sleeping: Rainforest Lodge Eating: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Travelling: n/a Rainforest Experience: Day 2 A free day in the rainforest means you can take advantage of the many excursions and activities available at the lodge. You could take a guided tour along local trails leading to one of the many Qochas (Lagoons). These act as a refuge and feeding ground for numerous animals such as black caiman, river turtles, giant otters as well as a large variety of fish. Along the way you will come across huge trees of all shapes and sizes, medicinal plants, numerous insects and butterflies as well as a variety of birds. You could also get closer to the wildlife in a canoe, or on a canopy walk. And when the sun goes down is a great time to find all the nocturnal wildlife on a moonlight nature walk, or caiman spotting cruise. Day 6 Amazon Rainforest / Baños: Sleeping: Baños Hotel Eating: Breakfast Travelling: Private Bus Rainforest Experience: Day 3 An early breakfast, and then back through the rainforest and onwards to Baños. On the way you will visit the great waterfalls of Pailon Del Diablo, before arriving at Baños, which means Bath, a town of waterfalls, hot springs and orchids at the base of the Tungurahua volcano. Day 7 Baños / Cotopaxi / Lasso: Sleeping: Lasso Hotel Eating: Breakfast Travelling: Private Bus On your way to Lasso you will meet the Salasacas people, one of the few remaining purely indigenous cultures, and a great opportunity to buy authentic textiles and wall-‐hangings. You will travel through the Avenue of the Volcanoes, and through Cotopaxi National Park. Cotopaxi itself is a magnificent volcano, home to one of the few equatorial glaciers. It dominates the landscape and can be seen from Quito. The park itself is home to huge herds of llamas, and wild horses. Extensions are available to spend more time adventuring the Cotopaxi National Park. Eventually you will reach the great plateau of Limpiopungo, simply the most breathtakingly beautiful spot in the entire region, before continuing onto Lasso, where you will spend the night in one of the most beautiful haciendas in Ecuador. Day 8 Cotopaxi / Saquisili / Riobamba: Sleeping: Riobamba Hotel Eating: Breakfast Travelling: Private Bus Saquisili, and the towns nearby, are famous for their markets, selling agricultural products and handicrafts from all the central provinces of Ecuador. From here you will continue to Riobamba, by way of a small town called Guano, famed for it's hand weaving, and not for being named after bird poo. You will spend the night in Riobamba, in a local country inn. Day 9 Riobamba / Ingapirca / Cuenca: Sleeping: Cuenca Hotel Eating: Breakfast Travelling: Train & Private Bus Early in the morning you will be transferred to Alausi station, where you will take the famous Devil's Nose train, one of the greatest engineering feats in Latin America, and one of the highest railways in the world. Teetering on the edge of gorges, and diving down 1,000m cliffs through a series of thrilling switches. A truly unique, and unmissable experience. After disembarking the train, you will continue to Canar, where you will get the chance to visit Ingapirca, one of the most important, and best preserved archeological complexes in Ecuador. This great fortress was first built by the pre-‐Incan cultures, and then adopted by the Incas as a ceremonial temple and strategic site. Eventually, you will arrive to your hotel in Cuenca.
Day 10 Cuenca: Sleeping: Cuenca Hotel Eating: Breakfast, Travelling: Tour Bus Cuenca is a small city full of well preserved colonial buildings and charming architecture. It is also famous as the home of the Panama hat. Your full day in Cuenca begins with a visit to the hill of Turi, and continues with a visit to the old Cathedrals, the flower markets, and the local handicraft shops, including handmade Panama hats and other impressive straw work. The afternoon is your own to take a breather, or wander around this picturesque city and see a few of the museums or beautiful old buildings. Day 11 Cuenca / Cajas / Guayaquil: Sleeping: Guayaquil Hotel Eating: Breakfast Travelling: Private Bus Not far from Cuenca is the Cajas National Park where over 230 glacial lagoons gather to form a rare and beautiful spectacle. It is a fantastic place for hiking, trekking, and observing the flora, fauna and bird-‐life of the area. You will then arrive in Guayaquil, which, in contrast to Cuenca is the largest, most modern city in Ecuador. Here you will be able to see the old and the new, side by side. Visit the many art galleries in the old neighbourhood of Las Peñas, or stroll along the riverfront to the 'mirador' (view point) where you will see the joining of the Duale and Babahoyo rivers to form the magnificent Guayas. Day 12 Guayaquil: Sleeping: n/a Eating: Breakfast Travelling: International Flight Here your journey ends, and you will be transferred to Guayaquil International Airport for your flight home. Or, if you're not done yet, from Guayquil, you can end your journey with an amazing trip to the Galapogas Islands, or you can continue further South to experience Peru, either by flying direct to Lima, or travelling overland through the beach resorts of Northern Peru. ACCOMODATION Quito (3 nights) Adventurer Vieja Cuba Comfort Nu House Luxury Mercure Rainforest (2 nights) Casa Del Suizo Casa Del Suizo Casa Del Suizo Baños (1 night) Hotel Floresta Hacienda Leito Hacienda Leito Lasso (1 night) Hosteria Rumipamba Hosteria Rumipamba Hacienda La Cienega de las Rosas de las Rosas Riobamba (1 night) Hosteria Andaluza Hosteria Andaluza Hosteria Andaluza Cuenca (2 nights) Hotel Inca Real Hotel Dorado Hotel Santa Lucia Guayaquil (1 night) Hotel Grand Hotel Grand Hotel Unipark Services include: Æ All hotel nights in double rooms in Quito Æ All excursions mentioned in the itinerary* (3 nights), Rainforest Lodge (2 nights), Æ Entrance fees, guides and transport to all Baños (1 night), Lasso (1 night), tours mentioned in the itinerary Riobamba (1 night), Cuenca (2 nights), Æ Professional tourist transportation and Guayaquil (1 night). experienced drivers on all tours, and Æ Breakfasts in all hotels, and all other between locations in private meals mentioned in the itinerary transportation. Æ All meals are included during the Æ Devil’s Nose train from Alausi – Sibambe rainforest experience – Alausi (Standard Class) *Shared service -‐ This means you may be joining another group. Services do not include: Æ Lunch and dinners (unless mentioned in the itinerary) Æ Drinks and snacks in the hotels Æ Travel insurance Æ International and local phone calls from the hotels or anywhere else Æ Tips for the local guides Æ International departure tax from from Guayaquil Airport – US$30. Æ Galapagos Exension Æ Any other thing not mentioned in this itinerary Responsibilities: We do not accept responsibility for luggage loss or any similar misfortune; travellers must have travel insurance that covers these losses. We do not accept responsibility for health problems during tours or excursions; travellers must have health insurance with sufficient coverage. We do not accept responsibility for natural or political disorders, weather changes, earthquakes, strikes, demonstrations, constructions in progress, or any other act of God that might affect the itinerary of the tour.